


Stained Heart

by Auraverze



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lime, Mild Language, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Strangers to Lovers, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26372509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auraverze/pseuds/Auraverze
Summary: Your destiny was set in motion before you even realized. From a dream that envisioned your existence, you made a contract that binds you forever to the world of Personas.Since the beginning, the burden of a Persona user has weighed on your shoulders, but is something you are unable to let go. Given the choice to take a break from it all, you leave to an unfamiliar city to experience a regular life. Unfortunately, such a desire doesn't come without a few interruptions.As the next Wildcard is chosen, everything begins to unravel. The game of distorted desires has latched onto the world, and the Trickster must set it free. However, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ most challenging heist might just be you.(Story ties with the Persona series’ timeline from P1-P5/Royal, Scramble, Strikers, and PQ2. I don’t own anything. Persona belongs to Atlus.)
Relationships: Amamiya Ren (Persona Series)/Reader, Kurusu Akira/Reader, Persona 5 Protagonist/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 94





	1. I am Thou, Thou art I

**Author's Note:**

> Slow updates.

_"Well hello there." younger you turned your head immediately turned around at the closeness of the voice, startled. Your childlike (e/c) eyes looked to see a jester of some sort towering over you. He was dressed in all white, adorned a strange and unnerving jester hat, and had what looked like face paint. In his gloved hand was a yellow flower. Your small hands trembled around the deck of cards you were holding. Despite your age, you could feel a dark and malicious aura emitting from him, especially when he gave a sinister smile down at you._

_"This is for you..." he said softly, looking directly at you from your lap, his voice was laboured with each breath. The older boy was able to move his arm, albeit strained in doing so. In his grasp was an all too familiar card. "There's no one else I trust more than you to have it..." Your teary eyes widened once you looked at it. "This is..!"_

_"At last we meet, honoured guest," the strange long nosed male said. Two girls with the same coloured icy blonde hair with gold eyes stood either side of him. To your right: a preteen with longer hair with in a blue attire held a large book to her chest. The left: an older, taller girl with a short bob wearing a matching blue outfit. They all had smiles on their faces, looking rather pleased._

_"An ironic twist of fate, isn’t it?" the shadow whispers. "To come far in your life like this... and see a startling truth." it takes a step forward. "Of course I'd know, I know you far better than anyone else, better than him, her..." the voice becomes more recognizable. "After all.. we are—”_

_"Are you absolutely certain you want to leave?" the redhead questions, face serious as she sits behind her desk. "As your guardian, I don't like the idea of you going off on your own. But as your friend, I understand why... After everything that's happened these past few years.. I was beginning to wonder when you'd ever to decide to try living a regular life." The woman reaches out from across her desk, holding your hands. Brown irises analyzing yours for any signs of hesitation. "Just promise that you'll try to be careful. If something happens—"_

Your eyes immediately opened as a gasp escaped from your lips. Sitting up, you rubbed your eyes and wiped a bit of sweat that ran down your face. Your breathing was laboured and deep before a choked sob came out, but no tears came. Instead, you went for covering your face with your hands as your shoulders trembled lightly, taking deep breaths as your mind began to scramble on what just happened.

After several minutes of trying to relax, you lay back down, staring at the ceiling of your apartment, heart still beating fast from the dream you just had. ' _Why now_?' you thought, it's almost been years since it all happened, meeting that malefactor, the making of the contract, wearing that arm band and carrying that silver revolver, the disbandment, the tv, why were your memories coming back to you like that?

Shaking your head, you turned over on your side and went to go back to sleep, saving those questions for later.

* * *

"A new student is gonna be joining ya," said Sojiro as he brewed some coffee for another customer.

Sitting in your usual spot at the bar, you raised your head from your drink to look at him, giving the silent gesture for home to continue. It's strange for Sojiro to know anything going on in Shujin at all.

"He's a troublemaker from what I've been told. Got himself a criminal record for being involved with harassment. The judge's decided to give him a year long probation, so he'll be staying in the cafe's attic for it." he explained, not bothering to look up from his task.

You narrowed your eyes at the man's words, but don't say anything for a moment, instead choosing to raise your cup and take a sip.

"Do you know what year he's in?"   
"Second, I think. So he'll be your underclassman, specifically speaking."   
"And you're okay with letting him stay?"  
"The kid's got nowhere else to go. So long as he doesn't cause any problems during his time here, I have no issues with it."

You watch him moving around behind the counter indifferently with a nonchalant look, before going back to enjoying the peaceful atmosphere where there weren't a whole lot of customers coming by. You put your left elbow on the bar, leaning your head against your hand as you closed your eyes.

At that moment, you chose to think about your dream, or rather, the flashbacks from so many years ago. You haven't thought about them since you came to Tokyo to complete the rest of your school years. It was overwhelming really, and it left you tired and sluggish the next few days after it came.

' _Could it be because.._ ' you paused. Though it's been a few years since you've come across another, you've began to feel off for sometime, but it wasn't just that. There was an odd feeling burning in your gut, that something was wrong and you just weren't seeing it. Shaking your head with a huff, you decided to put those thoughts away.

"You okay?" Sojiro asked, glancing at you. "You seem pretty distracted, which is funny considering you only make one face here."

"I'm fine." you sighed. "Just some issues to sort out in school is all." and just as you said that, your face went back to its neutral expression. Sojiro doesn't press on any further, which slightly eased the tension in your body. For as long as he's known you, he could never tell if you were lying or not.

Once finishing your drink, you dropped the money on the counter and walked away after saying your farewells to the barista. With hands stuffed in your sweater pockets and white earbuds in, you decided to take a walk around the city to distract yourself.

Finding yourself in Shibuya, you look up to the cloudy sky, your mind drifts off, but as you reminisce, your heart aches. Aching in a way where what if's were possible, where you could just abandon your power and leave it all behind. But that wasn't possible, especially with the contract you've tied yourself to.

"Senpai?" a feminine voice spoke to your left.

Blinking away from your thoughts, you take an earbud out as your head turns to see Kasumi. Her red hair was down from her usual ponytail and was dressed in her casual wear, a bag hung from her shoulder. Pushing up her glasses, she walks towards you in curiosity.

You slowly relaxed your posture at the sight of your underclassman. "Hello, Kasumi-san." you greet monotonously.

"Are you browsing around, Senpai?" she asks.

You shake your head, brushing a strand of hair away from your face. "I was just taking a walk to clear my head is all."

Her eyes seem to light up, you could already tell she had an idea form in her head. The two of you have known each other for a while since she came to Shujin, despite being in different years, so you've been able to read her like an open book, not that it was difficult. Kasumi was one of the very few people in Shujin Academy to ever approach you despite the rumors. She showed no hesitation in introducing herself when she stubbled upon you and another girl on the school's rooftop tending to the plants. She also noticed for herself how reserved and stoic you were no matter the situation, a person of mystery nobody could figure out. So Kasumi decided to go with the flow and try to befriend you.

At first you were put off at the sight of her openness, seeing how cheery she was to you whenever you crossed paths. You were someone who kept to themself, calm and aloof; never displaying any emotion other than boredom during your three years spent at Shujin. Kasumi became a breath of fresh air really, despite how indifferent you were with her like everyone else, she didn't seem to mind. That was what put you at ease, in a way, she reminded you of old memories you had of your friends years ago. Whenever she decided to tag along, you didn't bother to brush her off and just let her do what she wanted, that was what gave her some courage to hang out with you.

"Then how about we go look around together if you don't mind, Senpai?" the redhead offered. "Sure." you nod. She smiled at your answer, then grabs a hold of your elbow and strides off, pulling you with her.

The rest of your afternoon was spent with you and Kasumi looking through shops, her mindlessly talking to you about anything while you added your own input, though it tended to be short, she didn't mind it.

"Hey, (Y/N)-senpai?" Kasumi paused her movements. The two of you were currently at a bookstore, browsing around the shelves. You were skimming through pages on one aisle on the left, with her behind you on the right.

You hummed in response, but didn't take your eyes off the book you were holding.

"You know, I didn't get the chance to properly thank you, for helping me the other day." the redhead said softly.

She was talking about the time when she was walking home by herself after she was finished with her gymnastics. A man around his college years had come up to her, aggressively flirting in trying to get a date.

"Like I said," Kasumi replied uncomfortably, gripping her bag. "I don't mean to cause offense to you, but I'm not really interested, so if you don't mind..." she tries to move around him, when he put a hand on her shoulder, the pressure caused her to freeze.

"Hey now, I'm just asking to hang out for a bit, is that so bad?" the man asks slyly, leaning slightly closer to her.

Kasumi flinched at that, she tried shoving his hand away, but he just held on harder. There weren't many people around where they were at, so Kasumi struggled with finding a way to distance herself from the strange man.

"Let her go," a monotonous voice spoke out, startling her and the male. They turned to see a girl dressed in a sweater, t-shirt, and leggings with a pair of ankle boots. Her hair was in a ponytail, with earphones draped around her neck. She stared at them with a blank expression, hands stuffed in her sweater pockets as she came closer.

"Ah, Senpai!" Kasumi exclaimed, she quickly takes advantage of the man's surprised state, moving away from him and rushing up to the older girl.

"I'll walk with you the rest of the way." said (Y/N), face calm.

"Thank you, Senpai!" the redhead answers before the two of them begin to leave.

"Hold on, here!" the stranger called out, trudging over to the two of you. "I was only asking her a question is all.” He raised his hands up innocently. “Of course, if you’re so worried about her, I wouldn’t mind if you tagged along with us...” the stranger eyes you down, intrigued, but that action doesn’t waver you from your poker face.

Kasumi grips onto the back of your sweater lightly woh one hand. But you don’t look back, instead keeping your (e/c) eyes locked on the stranger’s narrowly.

“No, we’re leaving.” you say bluntly, turning around and walking away, Kasumi quickly following your lead.

“Hey! Don’t you know anything about manners!” tempered the male. He tried grabbing you, but missed when you simply moved away. The stranger stared on in frustration and anger, he went to land a hit straight at you. Kasumi let out a small gasp as she watched worriedly. But in one quick movement, you dodged from his fist with ease, face blank as you then stuck your foot out, his body was coming forward from his attempted punch, so he tripped flat on his face by your action.

Without a second thought, you walked away with Kasumi, who could only stare at you in awe.

"Have you finally decided on what to get, Senpai?"

"Yeah.." you answer softly, eyes lingering on the title of the cover, for some reason, you felt drawn to this specific book. And not just because you found it interesting, but because it felt like it could give you the one answer you've been looking for since that dream from last night.   
  
_**Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar**_  
 _ **Maurice Leblanc**_

* * *

The boy was startled to suddenly wake up in a prison cell, sitting on a mattress, he noticed he was wearing a classic black and white prisoner outfit. An extended handcuff was around his wrists, and larger ones crossed into an X in front of the cell bars.

"Huh..?" he mumbled under his breath as two twin girls with icy blonde hair and gold eyes dressed in strange clothing were in front of him outside the cell, staring at him nonchalantly. When he tried to walk, he looked to see a ball and chain tied to his left leg, but managed shuffle closer, grabbing the bars.

The girls then turned away from him and moved away from his view to stand on either side.

His face looked to be surprised as his gray eyes roamed around to see a room surrounded by vacant dark cells, with a blue glow emitting around the floor. A single yellow light was dangled in the middle over a strange man with white hair, an abnormally long nose with big round eyes and a large wide smile in a black suit seated at a wooden desk observing the noiret. On top of it was a lamp, a quit, and what looked like a mic on one side and a stack of papers on the other.

"Trickster... welcome to my Velvet Room." the strange long nosed man greets. His voice didn't sound exactly human, it was so deep and echoey. Nothing about it sounded remotely human.

"So you've come to, inmate." one of the twins said. They were both dressed in a blue collared shirt, black tie, a belt with slight baggy black shorts, white calf socks with black shoes, and a black and white arm band around their left upper arm. They had a blue and black officer cap over their heads and a black eyepatch with a giant V above a laurel wreath embroidered over the opposite eye of each other. The girls looked to be preteens, with their symmetrically short stature and youthful appearance.

The one with a single braid down her back held a clipboard, her hat had gold letters O • Y • O • O in front of it. The other had a single hair bun on either side of her head, with X • M • R • N on her cap, wielding a baton.

The teen was trying to process what was happening, he remembered going to sleep on his makeshift bed in the attic, and suddenly he was here.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." the other girl said monotonously, giving an answer to his confusion. "You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!" ordered the first twin.

"Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance." the 'master' said. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a 'contract' may enter." The strange man rests his head on the back of his white gloves hand and taping his desk with the other. "I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well." he revealed. "I summoned you here to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

"Important matters?" the noiret asked quietly.

"Still, this is a surprise..." Igor went on, looking around the room. "The state of this room reflects on the state of your heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Ruin?"

"I speak of the end of everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate." replies Igor. "You must be 'rehabilitated'. Rehabilitation towards freedom... That is your only means towards ruin... Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

Taking a minute to think over the words, the teen finally says "I'd rather avoid ruin."

"Allow me to observe the path to your rehabilitation." response Igor. "The Overseer will be the one to examine you personally in the real world, however."

"Overseer..?" the boy murmurs in confusion.

The two girls then pivoted their positions back to the noiret. "The Overseer's task is to view which path you will make for yourself, if you are worthy of her bond, she will aid you with great power." the girl with the clipboard speaks up. "Only then will you truly unleash your power."

"But her presence won't help with your rehabilitation, got it?" the other added. "So don't go thinking there's an easier way for you to pass your rehabilitation!"

"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others." Igor speaks up. "To your right is Caroline, to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here." he introduces.

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you'd like." said Caroline.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators." Justine explains. "...That is, if you remain obedient."

The frizzy haired teen didn't know what that comment entailed, he wasn't sure if she was threatening or warning him. He didn't want to know the details.

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another time." says Igor, the twins then turned towards their master once again. "Now then, it seems the night is waning... It is almost time. Take the chance to slowly understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..." he gestures his hand upwards in a single wave. The noiret then let go of the bars, staring up at the ceiling of his cell.

"Time's up." Caroline says. "Now hurry and go to sleep."

The boy grasps onto the bars once more before everything turned black.

* * *

"Again..?" the hooded figure whispered. Red pupils glowed brightly as they scanned over the room. The entire place was formed into an old tower, made of bricks and cement. It looked what seemed to be from a fairytale or the old age. Green vines and leaves were decorated over the walls, rows of armoured knight statues were lurking around every corridor.

What was held in one of the hooded figure's gloved hand was a leather journal with a cord wrapped around it. The Treasure. But that didn't matter anymore. Because the shadow in front of the hooded figure was slowly dying right after they found it.

The tower was cracking all over, albeit slowly, but the hooded figure made no rushed movements to leave just yet.

"How could this have happened again..?" mumbles the figure as they approached the shadow.

"..B-black.. mask.." the shadow croaks out, fading. "Th-the one with.. the mask... He c-came.."

The hooded figure gripped the journal tighter, feeling the material slowly dissipate. Their frown deepens, red pupils glowing brightly. "The hunt is on...”

* * *

As the noiret watched the blonde pigtailed girl drive off with the man, another female walked past him, one hand in her skirt pocket, the other holding a black umbrella that hid her face, aside from the long locks trailing down her back. She was wearing the Shujin Academy's female uniform, a school bag and white wired earphones on. She paid no mind to the transfer student as she calmly walked straight ahead.

Time seemed to freeze around him, the raindrops looked to be flowing incredibly slow, noises from the streets became fuzzy. The taller male didn't even seem to notice her until she was in his sight. His dark eyes were wide, mouth slightly parted as he suddenly felt an aura that seemed so familiar to him, a strong power resonated through his being, his heart felt like it was beating faster from this strange presence he was feeling from her. He saw a familiar dark blue fire surround her entire being, extending high above her intensely. It was just like that time when he set foot in Tokyo, where he looked to a glowing fiery visage stare at him. His gaze was only trained on her for those few moments, but when he blinked, the girl was gone.

The boy seemed completely puzzled at what he just felt and saw, continuing to give off a dazed look at the direction he last saw her go to. But was snapped out of it as a blond male came running over, standing in front of him a few feet away.

"Damn it!" the guy said. "Screw that perverted teacher!"

"Perverted teacher..?" Akira murmured, his phone recorded his voice, receiving a hit.

* * *

Far away from the two boys, you leaned your body against an alleyway, your umbrella was facing the ground, your grip on the handle supporting it from falling. Even though there was a roof shielding you from the rain, a few drops managed to land on your face, slowing sliding to your chin and jaw, but you paid no mind to it.

Your head slightly drooped, eyes focused on the ground analytically. The expression on your face was solemn and reminiscent the entire time as your thoughts pondered. Your left hand instinctively reached over to touch the wire connecting one of your earphones.

"So it is true..." you whispered.

" **Another Fool has finally come**.”

* * *

I am **thou** , thou art I...   
Thou hast acquired a **new** vow. 

It shall **become** the wings of rebellion  
that **breaketh** thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the **Arcanas** ,   
I have obtained the winds of blessing that  
shall lead to freedom and new **power**...


	2. Ch. 2: Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and a blond boy who goes to the same school as him, try making it to the building on time. Except it’s not Shujin Academy, but a castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Persona 5: the animation may be bad, but hearing P5 Hero's dub voice fully is worth it.

"Hey.. hey, wake up!" a male voice spoke out.

Akira opened up his gray eyes and slowly sat up, blinking sluggishly. Realizing he was lying down on something hard, he sat up and planted his feet on the floor and shook his head, putting his face in his hands.

"You all right?" the blond asked, standing up from his crouching.

"Yeah, you?" the noiret responded softly, moving his glasses away slightly to rub his eyes.

"More or less."

Akira rests his forearms on his lap, he quickly remembered what had happened. The noiret was only trying to get to school, somehow ended up in a castle, and got knocked out by weird giant guards. He exhaled before taking the chance to observe the room. He was on a wide wooden bench with a cloth draped over it. The floor and walls were made of bricks, barrels put in the corner, and chains decorated over the wall on his left. The wall and door in front of them was made of bars. He was in another prison cell, again. Why does he keep getting dragged into these kinds of situations? Akira pushes his spectacles up with a sigh, he suddenly recalled what that long nosed man said in his dream.

_"I speak of the end of everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate." replies Igor. "You must be 'rehabilitated'. Rehabilitation towards freedom... That is your only means towards ruin... Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"_

' _Challenge the distortion of the world..?_ ' the frizzy haired male thought. ' _Why am I thinking about that now? It was made of my imagination.. but everything I just saw... and that girl._..' He had felt a strange connection to her since he noticed her walk past him. It troubled Akira how he had this odd sense of familiarity with a completely mysterious stranger. He hadn't even seen her face! Akira had hoped he was only hallucinating with the problem he's found himself in, but the blond haired boy next to him reminded him how real it was, at least he wasn't alone this time.

"Looks like this ain't no dream..." the other male said, coincidentally predicting Akira's thoughts.

The blond glared at the bars, agitated. "Ugh, what's going on?!" he ran up front and banged the cell loudly.

"Hey, let us out of here! I know there's someone out there!" he received no response, causing him to huff in anger. He walked back to Akira, "Dammit, where are we? Is this some kind of movie set?!"

Suddenly, a strange wail echoed outside the dungeon, causing the two boys to turn their heads in alert. Akira stood up quickly as they came over to the door.

"Th-the hell was that just now?" the blond spoke in panic.

A man's voice let out a cry of pleas, making the blond freak out. Akira only stared through the bars wordlessly, dread slowly crawling up in his veins. Torture would be the best way to indicate what was happening to that person, and they've most likely been taken for the same thing.

"This is real bad," the guy beside him says. "Isn't there some way outa here!? C'mon, we gotta do something!"

Akira doubted that there was much they could do, nothing in the cell had anything that could help them. 

"Hey, you hear that?" the boy asked, soon enough, they began to hear a march of footsteps.

* * *

The cloaked figure quickly leaps in the air, doing a twirl of a flip as they unsheathed their sword at the unsuspecting guards. They slashed and maneuvered around their targets, who were much weaker, tried to flee or attack with poor power, causing the figure to defeat them with ease.

A shadow came foreword to them in a sprint, aware of this, the hooded figure whipped out their pistol and fired a few times without so much as a glance in its direction. The creature let out a small shriek at the pain it was in before it vanished.

Successfully infiltrating the area, the hooded figure put their weapons back to their belt. Their red pupils dimmed under the torches of purple fire as they scan over the room, facing a wide door.

"He was supposed to show up a while ago," they murmured, staring at the entrance. "This could explain why.." the hooded figure lets out a small sigh. "He really isn't as stealthy as he says he is when he's on his own..."

They walk inside the door, where a hallway of prison cells were lined up. A few non recognizable shadows hid in the dark, whispers and weeping echoed around them.

The cloaked person continued on straight, the shadows were only part of the distortion, to build the scenery of the castle. The shade of the figure's hood hid most of their mask in the light as their eyes look ahead, each step making light clicks from the heels of their shoes.

A harsh thud noise reaches their ears, causing the person to freeze their movements. They look over where it came from, and noticed a cell occupied by numerous guards. Swiftly, they head over in that direction, keeping their footsteps silent. They stand close enough to the bars, watching in slight curiosity at the appearance of two humans. One with recognizable frizzy dark hair, specs, wearing a school uniform. The other, dyed blond hair, with a yellow t-shirt with a design instead of the white turtleneck.

The cloaked figure's eyes narrowed, red pupils giving a slight gleam from underneath the shadow of their hood. If they had to interfere, they would do so indirectly. If the two males saw them now, it'd give away their position, causing alert in the castle.

Akira was pinned back by two large guards, gripping his shoulders with a strong force. He clenched his fists, onyx eyes blazing with frustration and anger at how helpless he was. The blond boy was being cornered by the same man Akira saw earlier. He was dressed in his underwear with a royal like white fluffy red cape wrapped around him knee length.

The blond male was lying almost on his back with the provocative dressed shadow in front of him, armoured guards facing his direction. The crown wearing shadow laughing at the younger male's fear. Akira truly felt helpless like he did the time he was accused, everything came rushing back. Was this always going to happen to him? To sit back and let whatever higher influenced people do as they like to innocents with no way to fight back?

" _This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none_." a female voice spoke to him suddenly, mellow yet high pitched, it had no hint of malice or cruel amusement in its tone. It was calm and compassionate.

A white butterfly appeared in his sights, fluttering and sparkling back and forth. Akira's gray orbs following its movements, it seemed like he was the only one who could hear the ominous voice. Time seemed to freeze thrice. " _But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you._.."

The hooded figure's eyes widen at the sight. ' _That butterfly..! Then that means.._ ' with a halted breath, they continued watching through the steel bars, fists clenched.

" **What's the matter...? Are you simply going to watch?** " another voice taunted to him, this time it was masculine and echoey. It seemed bold and confident as it said those words. Akira's head lightly turned left and right, eyes wide behind his glasses as he tried to find out where it was coming from.

" **Are you forsaking him for yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing.** " it said. " **Was your previous decision a mistake then?** " Akira's mind went back to a memory of himselftrying to simply stop that man from harassing a woman to being taken by the police.

"It wasn't." he answered aloud in a quiet yet firm tone, gritting his teeth.

The blond boy is then held up high by his neck from one of the guards' giant hands, giving light choke sounds as he gripped onto it tightly, a raised sword in his direction.

Akira tried pushing out of the soldiers hold on him at this point, only to struggle against their strength.

Outside, the hooded person's right hand twitched, face blank as they continued observing. There were two ways this could go: grab their gun, shoot straight at the guard holding the blond boy captive and have the shadows aware of their presence, or wait to see the noriet's power unleash to finish the job. They chose the latter, an awakening like his was not something to interfere, so they only stood still as their gaze trained on him.

" **Very well... I have heeded your resolve.** " the voice said to Akira as he tried pushing back, only to have his eyes widen and gasp. A pain suddenly struck him, which caused him to recoil and leave strangled groans escape his mouth. His heart was beating wildly, the sound of chains drumming in his ears. His thrashing as the voice called to him.

" **Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!** " Akira cried out even more as his head throbbed. " **Call upon my name, and release thy rage!** " A final scream came out as his head forward, eyes completely wide. " **Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou to be chained to Hell itself!** " the noiret slowly lifted his head up as his eyes then narrowed and glared.

"Execute him!" the crowned shadow ordered as he pointed to the blond boy.

"That's enough!" Akira's voice proclaimed, causing the shadow to look his way, yellow orbs looking wide in shock.

"What was that...?" he asked threateningly, the guard holding the blond followed suit, dropping the teen back down, who coughed and tried catching his breath. 

"You desire to be killed that much...? Fine!" the shadow said as he nodded his head to signal one of the knights.

The one holding Akira's left shoulder raised his shield and bashed a direct hit on him, a gasp of pain came out as black framed spectacles fell to the floor.

The hooded figure's hand twitched again.

Another pair of guards held Akira back once more, a single wooded spear handle crossed each other, restraining his neck. The knight backed away from its attack, Akira was unmoving as he stood, eyes closed. The blond teenager grunted as he slid down the wall from behind him.

"Hmph..." the crowned shadow grinned egotistically as he signalled his hand again. The guard raises his sword up as ordered to strike, until Akira's eyes opened, a heartbeat thrumming out loud as a gust of wind from the noiret swept over everyone in the cell. The masked person's hood remained kept on their head as the ends of their coat swayed out from the strong breeze.

The spears loosened its hold on him, the guard who tried to strike him was pushed to the ground. Akira remained still for a moment before looking up.

Feeling something on his face, he reached his hands to check. He touched a smooth material that had appeared in the form of a mask. It was white with black outline on the holes of the eyes like a simple masquerade design.

Grabbing ahold of it, Akira tried pulling it off, only to struggle as the mask seemed to be glued to his face. Grunts escaped his mouth as he pulled as hard as he could, giving a shout as blood came out when he was able to take it off completely. A deep red painted the upper part of his face, with only one trail falling over each cheek to his neck, no stain on his uniform.

His black hair shaded his eyes before he moves his head up, yellow eyes shining instead of gray. A smirkwas on his lips, appearing in a daze. Blue flames sprung out, surrounding his being, the blood on his visage evaporating into it as well. A face formed with orange flamed eyes and mouth before it consumes him as a large burst of flames, making the shadows move away from him.

The face fiery face returns as it rises from Akira, chains springing out as the boy's clothes changed. The smirk with narrowed eyes that turned back to his gray ones never left as he gave a small chuckle. A large dark being was behind him, a fiery visage itch horns curled out, wearing a long black top hat with a red suit, black underneath it, and a white neckerchief. The noiret's school uniform was now a gray turtleneck vest, slight baggy black pants, sharp black ankle pointed low heeled shoes. A long three tailed black coat with along collar and handkerchief out in his left breast pocket, finishing off with red gloves.

Akira flicks his arms up halfway, the man like creature follows the action. Black wings spread out from behind it, the chains swirling around the two of themwhipped out along with a another powerful gust of wind. It knocked the knights and the king completely to the ground effortlessly.

The hooded figure watched intriguingly and in wonder at the sight of Akira's resolve manifesting so strongly. They had seen many of them over the years of experience they've gained. All were unique and different for each person regarding the Arcana they wielded.

"Wha... what the..?" the blond boy could only look in shock and fear at what had just happened to the new student. Frozen in place at the bright blue light surrounding the noiret.

Akira only smirked deviously, entranced by the strange power surging in him. No hesitation or distress was in his gray eyes.

" **I am the Pillager of Twilight: Arsène!** " the red and black human like being exclaimed.

"What the...?" the blond inquired again.

" **I am the rebel's soul that resides within you.** " Arsène explains to Akira when the noiret looked to him. " **If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis.** " he offered.

Akira only looked determined. "Give me your power."

" **Hmph, very well.** " agreed Arsène.

"Who the hell are you...?!" the king questioned aggressively. He stood by the cell gate, the rest of his guards still laid unmoving. The cloaked person was quick to use the solid wall on their right side to hide from view. Red pupils giving a slight gleam as they constricted with narrowed eyes behind their mask.

"Guards!" the king ordered. Immediately, the knights all managed to stand back up in offensive stances. "Start by killing that one!" he pointed at Akira. Two of the guards then changed their forms into giant floating creatures wrapped in cloaks with witch hats on the top of their pumpkin heads.

"You'll learn the true strength of my men!" the king proclaimed smugly.

" **Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power... and unleash it!** " Arsène advised strongly. 

"Persona!" Akira called out, attacking one of the pumpkins with Arsène's assistance.

"Swing your blade!"

Akira jumps at the creature he attacked earlier with his dagger, slashing at it swiftly. He had never done anything like it before, but it felt natural to him, the blade was a perfect balance in his grasp as he left a strike.

" **This power of mine is yours!** " said Arsène. " **Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!** "

The noiret finished the last remaining opponent up with ease.

"What..." the blond still couldn't move from what he was seeing. 

Akira suddenly blinked and looked at the clothes he was wearing for the first time, appearing just as confused.

The hooded figure closed their eyes, feeling calm as they turned their head away and walked back to the direction they came in quietly. The brick wall hiding them from the the alert of their presence.

"What was that just now...?" asked the blond.

"You little...!" scowled the king.

Finally able to get his bearings, the blond charged at the tyrant king, knocking him out.

"Ha! You like that, you son of a bitch!?" the blond exclaimed.

"Lock the cell with the keys!" Akira said urgently.

"Y-you mean this?" the blond asked, spotting the ring of keys on the ground, he grabbed them as the two ran out the open door cell.

"It's locked!" the blond confirmed.

"Damn you!" the king scorned.

"Hey...! What was that just now!?" questioned the boy, ignoring the red robed king. "And... your clothes...!"

Suddenly a small bright blue fire engulfed Akira, changing his present clothes back into his uniform. He had his black framed glasses back on his face, school bag over his left shoulder, appearing like he did earlier.

"Whoa, it went back to normal...!?" the blond said shocked.

The king bangs on the cell, startling the two boys from their surprise. "You bastards!" he seethed angrily.

"God, this's effin' nuts!" the blond shook his head before looking at the noiret. "Anyway, let's scram. You lead the way!" the two then ran off straight ahead.

"Goddamn thieves..." the king scowled. "After them! Don't let them escape!"


	3. Ch. 3: Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Ryuji escape from their prison cell. Trying to find an exit from the castle, they have a few surprising encounters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Artwork soon to be added for better insight.

Akira and his blond schoolmate, who's last name the noiret assumed was Sakamoto, ran far off from the dungeons. The architecture outside the dungeon cell was bizarre, it had a large bumpy wooden path with a small wide waterfall connecting a river that went straight in the middle, and plants decorating the walls. The space was much bigger than either the boys had expected, it felt like a mix between a jungle and medieval castle constructed into a single building.

The boys ran straight to the front cell doors, Akira tried to open and push but the gates were completely shut.

"It ain't openin?!" 'Sakamoto' exclaimed in frustration. "Dammit! Let's try and find another way through!"

Akira turned away from the doors and looked around. Beside the two of them was a bridge over the small waterfall, when the noiret came closer to examine it closer, it gained the blond's attention.

"Huh? What is it?" he asked. Looking over the silent male's shoulder he furrowed his brows. "A bridge... looks like it's broken though... Wait, think we can jump across?" Sakamoto suggested, noticing the gap from the other side being small enough.

Akira took a step back before leaping off, making it over with ease. Sakamoto followed suit, trailing behind him as they both ran off trying to find an exit. As they navigated around, they saw cages dangling above the water and other empty dungeon rooms, and purple flames as torch lights.

"All that execution shit... is he serious?" Sakamoto muttered under his breath.

The noiret continued inspecting, ignoring the cruel scenery around the two of them and the anxiety he felt in his stomach. Minutes of finding their way out of the castle, Sakamoto noticed something.

"H-hey.. look.." the blond nudged Akira and pointed forward.

Across the river was one of the cells hanging with someone inside calling out incoherent sentences. "We really did hear people screamin'... So we ain't the only ones who got captured!" Sakamoto said with a downtrodden tone. "Is, uh... is he okay?" he asked nervously.

"...We should keep going.." Akira answered uneasily, eyeing the figure hesitantly, not sure what to make of the person.

Heading a few feet away, the two spotted something. "There's something there, a bridge... and a statue?" the blond wondered. "Dammit! How the hell are we supposed to get outta here?!"

"... Hey, you there." a soft high pitched voice spoke out, it sounded young, a bit boyish, and a little out of place. Akira and Sakamoto froze in their steps and looked over where it was coming from.

"Blondie! Frizzy Hair! Look over here!" the voice said once more with more volume.

Turning his head, Akira saw a very small strange creature behind one of the cells. It had a wide head, pointy black ears, a small catlike mouth, a plain black band around the upper part of its face that seemed to be a mask, a pair of big oval blue eyes with a yellow neckerchief around its neck. It looked apprehensive as it gripped the bars.

"Gah! What is this thing?!" Sakamoto exclaims in shock.

It waved its small arm at them, "You're not soldiers of this castle, right? Get me out of here!" it begged. "Look, the key's right there!"

"We're trying to get the hell out of here!" Sakamoto exclaimed with wary eyes. "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy, too!"

"I'm locked up here, so how can I be the enemy?! Help me out!"

"...A cat?" Akira inquires in confusion as he looked at the creature behind his black framed glasses.

The strange creature turned to him with angry expression. "I am NOT a cat! Say that again and I'll make you regret it!" he sneered.

Footsteps echoed in the halls, alerting the three.

"They're catching up already...!" Sakamoto said anxiously. He took out his phone and turned it on, "Shit, there's still no service. Ain't there any way to contact someone from outside?!" he hissed quietly. "How the hell do we get out..?!"

"Hey, you two!" the small creature said. "You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there." he offered. "You don't want to get caught and executed, right?"

Akira looked at him unsurely. "Can you really help us?" he asked.

"I never go back on my word!" he said confidently. "Besides, there's a partner of mine who can really help you guys out!"

"Partner..?" the noiret repeated with furrowed brows.

The creature nodded its head eagerly, "A human just like you! The two of us were supposed to meet up at a different location in the castle earlier, but I got captured before we could."

"Another person here? This thing sounds like its all talk..." Sakamoto says to Akira, looking skeptical. The gray eyed male appeared intrigued, but didn't give verbal response.

The strange creature narrowed his eyes, "If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!"

"What do we do...?" Sakamoto asked Akira, the footsteps of guards sounded closer, alerting the boys to make haste.

The blond leaned forward to the creature, "Are you seriously not messin' with us?" he questioned strongly.

"If you don't hurry, they'll catch you." the catlike creature warned.

Sakamoto looked to the quiet boy next to him, who nodded his head. The blond nevertheless begrudgingly agreed, "F-fine..."

Unlocking the gate, the creature walked out and stretched. "Ahhh.... Freedom tastes so great..."

"Now where's the exit, you monster cat?" the blond questioned urgently.

The creature snapped his head at him and glared, "Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!"

Sakamoto only returned the leer, "Shut up and hurry! You wanna be locked up again?!" he retaliated.

"A-all right, sheesh!" Morgana gave in. "Follow me, and stay quiet!" before the three of them took off, the creature leading the two boys back to where they saw the closed off bridge.

Morgana walked closer to the tiki like statue, causing Sakamoto to be dubious. "What're you doin'?"

Morgana looked back at the blond, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm lowering the bridge." he said before turning to Akira. "You, Frizzy Hair, it seems like you pick up on things faster than our Blondie over here." he stated. "Try checking around the mouth of this statue, okay?" Morgana moves out of the way to let the noiret check.

Akira reaches for the statue's mouth and pulls the bottom down, its eyes glowed a fierce yellow before the wooden bridge immediately drops and connect into a pathway.

"How were we supposed to know to do that?!" Sakamoto said flabbergasted.

"Hmph, amateur. Come on, let's get going!" said Morgana.

Running through, they soon run into a guard. "A-aah! Shit... shit! It's them!" Sakamoto freaked out, landing on his backside in fright.

Akira jumps slightly in surprise as his clothes immediately change again. A small burst of light surrounded his body in a blink before he was adorned in the attire and mask he wore earlier.

"Tch... you amateur!" Morgana says as he jumps on the blond's shoulder and lands in front of the two boys. Morgana turns his head to Sakamoto, "Stay still!" he then looks at Akira. "Hey, you! You could fight, right? Let's go!"

Morgana's gaze shifts forward again, looking up, he calls out "Come...! Zorro!" A big bright light comes out from below the ground, completely enveloping his form. Sakamoto gave a scream at the sight before a giant figure stood behind Morgana. It had a rapier in one hand with a cape flowing behind it. Akira looks at the duo stunned, it seemed so natural for Morgana to summon a being, what the noiret recalled it to be a Persona. It made him really question what was going on with this place.

"Y-you got one of those things, too?!" the blond cried out. The knight soon changes its form, causing Morgana to cross his arms with confidence. "Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!"

Akira and Morgana stand firmly in front of the guard, the noiret gripping his dagger tight while Morgana held out a cutlass sword.

"Damn shadows... they've taken up intercept position!" noted Morgana. "It means they're holding nothing back and are serious to kill us! I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let's go!"

Akira takes a deep breath before unleashing his attack. Morgana giving some pointers as they fought against the 'shadow', as the catlike creature put it.

Sakamoto slowly walks to the two of them after their victory. Akira put his gloved hands in his tailcoat pockets, feeling more at ease after the battle. Morgana looks at him impressed, "Not bad. Your Persona's pretty powerful."

"Persona...?" Sakamoto asks with wide eyes. "Y'mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic like?"

"Yes, you saw how Frizzy Hair here ripped off his mask when he summoned it, right?" said Morgana. "Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that..." suddenly, Akira changed into his school uniform once again.

"Woah... He turned back to normal?" Sakamoto inquired.

"Hm, it looks like you don't have full control over your power yet." Morgana says thoughtfully.

Akira looked at him, curiosity in his dark gray eyes that hid behind his spectacles. "Does your partner have this ability, too?"

"Oh, yeah." Morgana nods his head. "Though my partner is definitely no amateur, it takes experience to be really strong. Your transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all–"

"Ugh, that's enough! This crap doesn't make sense." the blond interrupts his explanation.

"Can't you sit still and listen for once, Blondie?!" Morgana retorts in irritation.

"Don't call me Blondie!" the teen snaps. "My name's Ryuji..."

"Actually, there's no time for me to lecture you!" Morgana shakes his head with a stern look on his face. "You wanna escape from this place in once piece, right? Let's go! Oh, but before that... take these. Use them carefully, okay?" he takes out some medicine and hands it to Akira. "Come on, we should hurry. It's not much farther to the exit. There's a hopeful chance we might run into my partner."

As the three of them took off again, almost reaching to the nest bridge, Ryuji paused. "Hold on a sec!" he said, making Akira and Morgana stop their movements and look at him.

Ryuji walks closer to the beside cell them and looks at a boy dressed in a red sports jersey with the number 6 on his back, lying on his stomach. "I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearin' before..." Ryuji trails off nervously. "Dammit! I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!"

"Come on, let's go!" Morgana says impatiently.

"Hold on, dammit!" the blond protests.

"What is it? We need to go, fast!" the creature reminds him.

"But... who are these guys?" Ryuji wondered worriedly.

"Do you really think you have time to worry about that right now?!" scolded Morgana. "Besides, they're–"

"There!" a voice proclaimed, alerting the three.

The bridge was lowered to reveal one of the guards on the other side charging at them.

"You should've listened to me...!" Morgana sighed.

"Let's fight." said Akira before he was changed into his other clothes.

"I'm glad you stick to your guns." said Morgana before the guard transformed. "Looks like it's raring to go, too!"

After the fight, the path was cleared. Morgana nodded his head as Akira was changed back, "All right! Let's get away before more show up!"

"Hold on, we can't just leave these guys here...!" Ryuji objected.

"You really don't get it, do you? Argh, there's no time to explain." answered Morgana. "Look, I'm going. If you don't want to follow, be my guest!" he said before sprinting off.

"Dammit... Fine, I'm coming!" the blond caves in begrudgingly, him and Akira quickly passing the bridge.

"The entrance hall is right above here! The exit's close... Keep up!" Morgana notified, they reach on top of the stairs and into another floor where the interior looked much more like a castle.

"Over there!" A guard's voice shouted as heavy footsteps echo in air.

"Crap!" Ryuji hissed as a couple soldiers came closer from another hall. "There's more this time!"

"And we were so close..." Morgana mumbled under his breath before looking to Akira. "Think you can handle another round?"

Akira ran a hand through his messy black locks before nodding. As one of the guards came much closer and ripped its mask off, changing form, a gunshot ringed in the boys' ears, causing them to freeze as a bullet whizzed past the noiret and the blond, making a direct hit at the knight who fell over and disappeared from the attack.

In shock, the boys turned their heads to the right side of the hall, a figure stood above the grand staircase with a silver shotgun in their right hand, a sheathed sword attached to their hip, and a hood completely shadowing their face from view. The guards that followed suit froze in their movements.

The figure jumped and landed down gracefully in front of the three males and took off their mask, "Themis," the cloaked person stated calmly. Just then, a Persona appeared behind them. It had a humanlike body of a woman clad in a loose flowing toga dress in silver with bits of gold over the clothing and its body. Light steel armour was worn over the dress. The Persona's dark brown hair is done up in a braided hairstyle with hair dangled down its upper back. Its skin was pitch black but the gold marked on its body gave a divine appearance, making an arm band on each side. The dress had a double slit, showing off the Persona's long pointy legs with gold at the bottom like soles. It's eyes completely covered by its fringe. Topping it all off was the sword in its grasp, the other a steel chain which wrapped around the Persona. It connected to a large split scale floating behind its back.

The hooded figure held out a sword of their own in their left hand and pointed at the soldiers, the Persona followed the silent order and attacked the shadows swiftly with one hit, wiping all of them out.

Akira and Ryuji watched the fight in surprise and wonder at how easy the guards went down. Morgana only grinned and crossed his arms. Once the battle was quickly over, Akira turned his head to get a better look at the mysterious person who helped them.

It was a woman, dressed in a frilly gray blouse, a darker gray buttoned under-bust corset with white small frills and red buttons, black pants, a black three tailed coat with a hood, and black gloves. She wore a pair of black thigh high heeled boots with silver outsoles. Silver lines were at the top which were triangle shaped over her knees. A silver buckle strap were wrapped around each of her ankles. And two smaller ones below the silver line wrapped around her thighs. A long braided hair sticking out from underneath the back of her hood. The last final touch was the medium gray coloured mask with red linings. The pupils of her eyes were also bright red, matching the design of her mask as she gave him a neutral stare.

Akira suddenly felt an intense aura emitting from her. It was similar to the girl with the umbrella, but this feeling was more vivid, ardent yet daunting. The noiret's brows furrowed a bit as his mouth parted slightly. Akira's heart pumped fast, like he was given a shock. There was an air of familiarity from this woman that he just couldn't place. Deep in his mind, Akira felt infinite. He could sense Arsène's presence within him, like the Persona was trying to make a connection to the woman. His posture straightened up a bit more as he observed her inquisitively.

"Is that... your partner?" he finally asked, his own voice bringing him back to the present. Morgana turned his head to the noiret and nodded. "That's her!"

"What the hell..?" Ryuji trails off in astonishment. "That chick just wiped them out like they were nothing! She's wearing a costume too! ...Come to think of it.. her clothes kind of matches yours." he points out, causing Akira to blink at him then at the woman, thinking over the blond's sentence.

"Lady Spectre!" Morgana calls out, looking relieved.

"Morgana," she acknowledged monotonously. "I searched the castle for you. I was wondering where you were.."

"A-ah, well, you see..." Morgana trailed off bashfully.

The hooded woman only let out a sigh. "Don't tell me... you got yourself caught, didn't you?" she asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Hahaha..." he laughed nervously.

"Lady Spectre?" Ryuji repeats, interrupting the conversation in confusion. "That can't be a real name!"

The hooded woman called Spectre only turned her head to Akira, eyes boring right through him. It sent a chill down his spine, it was like she knew everything about him with just one look. "Now, can you explain how the two of you ended up in a place like this?" she asks.

"We don't know! We were just makin' our way to school when all of a sudden we got here!" Ryuji answers. "We thought it was some prank or festival goin' on so we walked inside... and these big ass weird lookin guards knocked us out and took us to some dungeon. Then this self-claimed king that looks exactly like the pervy teacher from our school tried to kill us!" the blond then uses his thumb and points at the quiet noiret beside him. "But this guy did what you and Morgana were doing and fought 'em off."

Spectre tilted her head in thought at the information and crossed one arm over her stomach while the other was propped on top of it, hand under her chin. "If you're saying that you've been here since this morning... Then That means you've been staying here for hours, right now it's around the afternoon." she informed.

The two teens looked surprise at that. "Shit! We've been gone for that long?!" exclaimed Ryuji.

The hooded woman shook her head, "Not enough for anyone to file a missing person's case, but detention, maybe." as the words escape her lips, Ryuji groaned in dissatisfaction at that.

"These two helped me escape that cell so in return, I'm taking them to the exit." Morgana explains.

Spectre nods her head thoughtfully and directs her attention to the two boys. "I'll go with you if you don't mind. It'll be much quicker if any more guards show up."

Morgana nodded his head to the boys, "It's good to be safe in numbers. Lady Spectre is also an experienced Persona user, so we shouldn't have any problems."

Akira reached to push his black framed glasses up and nodded his head, being as nonchalant as he could. "Lead the way."

* * *

"We're here!" Morgana says as him and Spectre turned around to look at the two boys following behind them. The four of them all stood in a corridor which was more secluded. The rest of the way to the exit was smooth sailing, the castle was pretty vacant, when shadows would see them they'd immediately run away. Akira knew it was because of Spectre, one glance and they'd scram like they were afraid.

'Is she really that strong...?' he thought.

"Finally! We're saved!" Ryuji replied with relief. He went over to open one of the doors but it wouldn't budge. "Nnh...?! It's not openin'!"

He turned and glared at Spectre and Morgana. "Did you trick us, you jerks?!"

The two remained unfazed at the blond's accusation. "Don't jump to conclusions! Over here!" answered Morgana in a positive tone before he opened the door from behind himself and Spectre, the woman following close after.

"H-hey wait up!" Ryuji said as he trailed after Akira.

There was nothing much in the room beside purple flamed torches with small red royal flags dangling from them downwards. Brick walls surrounded the area with stone material at the bottom. In front of the four was a big vent shaft.

"Where are we supposed to get out from here?! There aren't even any windows?!" Ryuji questions in frustration.

"Ugh, amateur..." Morgana says tiredly to Spectre. She only shook her head as he turned to the males again. "This is the most basic of basics."

"A ventilation shaft?" inquires Akira.

Morgana began looking enthusiastic once again and turned to the noiret. "That's right! As I thought, you're a natural at this."

"This will take you all the way outside." said Spectre. "The doors and windows don't work quite the same way, given the architecture..."

"I see.. Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off!" says Ryuji before he went to go in first. "And a one, and a two–Whoa..!" he cried out, startled as the mesh fell to ground with him. "Ow... Crap! The enemy didn't hear us, did they?" he asks as he gets back on his feet.

"Don't worry about them," Spectre answered calmly.

"Seriously, we're finally gettin' out of here!" he responds enthusiastically.

"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out." Morgana informs. "Now, get going."

"But... what about you guys?" the blond asks.

"There's something we still have to do." Morgana answers.

Spectre nods her head, "We have unfinished business that we weren't able to take care of sooner given the circumstances. The two of you, however, need to go back before the day ends."

"... Thank you." says Akira earnestly, looking at them through the lens of his glasses. Dark gray eyes filled with honesty and relief, Spectre gives him a relaxed expression as she nods.

"Heh. You've got manners." Morgana chuckles. "Be careful on your way."

Ryuji then jumps up to reach the vent before crawling inside, as Akira went to do the same, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning his head, he sees Spectre looking at him, he could've sworn her red pupils emit a soft glow.

"Change is a powerful thing. To oppose is a matter of wills. Please remember that." she says softly before leaning closer to his ear and whispered, "The Velvet Room awaits you..."

Akira's eyes widen in shock as he gaped at her, "How do you..?"

All she did was put a gloved finger to her lips. It drops to her side again before her body moves back away from him.

The noiret stares at her for a second longer before quickly getting inside the vent, leaving her and Morgana behind.

Morgana crosses his arms in thought, "Those two seem useful..." he says. "Especially the frizzy-haired one, if my judgement's right..."

"He does have potential." she said nonchalantly. "I could sense his spirit of rebellion once we met."

He looks up at Spectre and tilts his head, "What were you telling him anyway?" he asks curiously.

The masked woman's eyes shift from the vent to Morgana, "To be more alert, I have a feeling that they'll return, next time willingly."

* * *

Akira and Ryuji both panted as they stood in the middle of a sidewalk, pedestrians walking all around them.

"Did we make it...?" the blond asks tirelessly.

Akira takes out his phone from his pocket which spoke in a feminine yet robotic tone. "You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."

"Huh? Returned...?" the blond says with wide eyes. "Does that mean we got away?"

"Probably," replies Akira, brows slightly furrowed in thought before putting his phone back in his pocket.

"I dunno what to think anymore..." Ryuji said before,his eyes narrowed. "What was all that anyways...? That castle, Kamoshida, that weird cat and that girl with the hood! The hell's going on?!"

"What's with the yelling?" a police officer inquired as he walks up to the boys.

Before talking to the police for a few minutes, Akira knew that there was no possibility that they'd believe two teenage boys seeing a castle on their way to school. He had to play this out casually, considering that Ryuji made himself sound delusional to the officers.

Finally at Shujin Academy, the two males stood at the front entrance. Everything looked normal, the blond could only stare at it with wide eyes. "Is this for real...? I'm sure we vocale the same way... What's goin' on here...?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you." a male voice spoke, a middle aged man dressed in a moss green suit stood in front of the stairs, looking down on them with arms crossed. "We received a call from the police."

"That damn cop snitched on us after all!" Ryuji scowled.

The man only continued, "It's rare not to see you alone. Where were you roaming around until this time?"

"Uhh... a ca-a castle?" the blond answered nervously.

Akira only sighed in his head at the poor response again, though his facial expression remained completely blank.

"So you have no intention of giving an honest answer?"

"What's this about a castle?" a new voice asked. Akira narrowed his eyes at the familiarity it had, it sounded just like...

As the person came into view beside the man, the two teens looked more alert.

"Kamoshida?!" Ryuji says, startled. Kamoshida was dressed in a plain white t-shirt and gym pants with a whistle around his neck. But there was no denying that he looked exactly like the provocative king back at the strange castle. Akira remembered that the blond did say that name when they were in the dungeons.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto." mused Kamoshida. "Quite a different from when you did morning practice for the track team."

Ryuji only scowled as he talked back, "Shuddup! It's your fault that–"

"How dare you speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida!" the green suited man scolded before giving a sigh, "There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"

"He's the one that provoked me!" snapped Ryuji.

"Do you really want to be expelled?" the man asked warningly. "In any case, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me."

"What?! This is bullshit!"

"Come now, I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame." Kamoshida offered in an easy going tone. Akira could tell that the enthusiasm was false, deep in his gut he knew that there was nothing good about that man.

"Well, if you say so..." the other adult said. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're still extremely late."

"Fine." Ryuji agreed begrudgingly.

"By the way..." Kamoshida says, turning to the noiret. "You're that new transfer student, correct? Akira Kurusu..."

Ryuji begins following the suit-dressed man inside the building, not before giving Kamoshida a harsh glare midway on the stairs.

Kamoshida appears unfazed by it, looking to Akira he pondered in thought. "... Have we met somewhere?"

Akira felt uncomfortable at talking to him, feeling stiff as he remembered watching the adult male drive off with the young pigtailed blonde in his car.

"Nope." he went and answered, shaking his head.

Kamoshida scratched his head, "Hm...? Oh, I remember now.. I saw you at the station." before he went back on topic. "Well, I'll overlook this for just today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?" he says sternly.

"... I understand."

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Ms. Kawakami's tired of waiting." before going back inside, he looked back at Akira once more. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life." the sentence appeared friendly, but Akira could sense the undertones of derision laced in his tone.

Akira pushed his spectacles up to rub his eyes and let out a deep breath, before making his way inside Shujin.


	4. Ch. 4: Shujin Academy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira has finally arrived to school, though it’s no surprise that he’s already receiving a cold welcome from the other students. But despite his rough first day, he quickly learns that something is going on at the academy.

Never had Akira experienced anything as uncomfortable as being the center of attention. Walking past the other students in the halls to get to the faculty office, they all gossiped to each other loud enough for him to hear. He could feel the lingering looks of judgment directed at him. All the students basically said the same thing, that he's a dangerous criminal.

" _Did you know, Senpai? Some crazy second-year student is transferring to our school."_

_"Let's just stay away from him. That guy's nothing but trouble."_

_"That guy's life is over. He should just disappear already."_

_"I heard someone who got charged with assault transferred to our school as a second-year..._ "

Akira ignored the comments and made his way inside, where he met Ms. Kawakami, who looked less than pleased to see his late arrival. She had dark messy hair in a bob cut, a yellow long sleeved shirt and a pencil skirt with flats. She gave a short lecture on his timing and warned about being around Ryuji Sakamoto; saying that he was nothing but trouble before leading him to class.

The noiret felt strained on the long hours of his first day. Already feeling the tension in the atmosphere once he came inside to all the students sitting at their desks. All staring at him with mixed emotions as they chattered to one another as he stood in front of them beside the teacher.

"Settle down." said Ms. Kawakami. "... Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Akira Kurusu. Today, we... had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well." before directing her voice to the noiret. "All right, please say something to the class."

"... I'm Akira Kurusu." he says softly, keeping it straight to the point.

"He seems quiet... but I bet when he loses it..." one whispered.

"I mean, he was arrested for assault, right...?"

"...Uhh, so..." the teacher continued. "Your seat will be... Hmm... Over there. That one's open." she gestured forward to the desk on his right side, the second last row by to the window. "Sorry, but can the people nearby share your textbooks with him for today?"

"This sucks..." one complained.

A male student sitting in the middle of the second row only sighs, downtrodden. His face had some small injuries, a bandaid on one cheeks. He had light black short disheveled hair, brown eyes looking at his desk. He was only one in class with his school blazer off among the other classmates.

Akira only put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the empty seat, bmdoing his best to ignore the tension in the room. "...Lies." he heard faintly. Turning his head, he saw the same blonde haired girl with the pigtails sitting in front of the vacant desk.

"You're that girl..." Akira murmured quietly.

The blonde didn't respond, making Akira continue his way to his seat. Already the rumors were spreading.

"...Did you catch that? Do those two know each other?"

"Does that mean he hit on her before transferring here?"

"That means she's cheating on him with Mr. Kamoshida. Then again, this is Takamaki-san we're talking about..."

"For real. That side of the room is totally awful."

"Oh, right! The volleyball rally's in two days..." Ms. Kawakami recalled. "Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get class started."

* * *

Once classes were finished, Akira walked out the door before he suddenly stopped after a few steps. His vision started to blur, everything was shifting; the hallway had a red carpet instead of the wooden floor, and the paint jobs on the walls were a lighter blue. He also felt a little lightheaded all of a sudden. Akira blinks a few times before reaching a hand to hold his face and shake his head, taking a moment to stabilize himself.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Ms. Kawakami asks as she stepped out of the classroom.

"Is this a school...?" Akira inquires with wariness in his onyx colored eyes as he turns to look at the teacher.

She sighs and scratches the back of her head, "Are you sure you're okay?" Looking at her face, the noiret could only guess that she genuinely didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Don't get involved–" she is suddenly cut off ironically by Ryuji in front of them.

"Speak of the devil..." Ms. Kawakami says dryly. "What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting class today?"

"Ugh... it was nothin'." he brushes it off in a dull tone.

"And you haven't died your hair back to black either.." she sighs.

"Sorry 'bout that." he really wasn't. Ryuji headed to Akira's side, standing in front of the spectacled male, he turns and says, "I'll be waitin' on the rooftop." before walking away.

Ms. Kawakami only gave another exaggerated sigh, "See? That's why I don't want you getting involved. Understood?" then heads off herself.

Akira was about to move until he spotted Kamoshida and the principal a few feet in front of him. The principal was bald, body rounded with a beige suit. Deciding to stay where he was, he eavesdropped on their conversation once he heard what they were talking about, making sure to avoid their attention.

"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer here? He's already started associating with Sakamoto." Kamoshida says. "A student with a criminal record, and the culprit of an assault case. At this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to this school."

"Now don't be like that..." the principal responds. "This school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star. Still, a steady build up is necessary behind such brilliance as well."

"You're troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa?" said Kamoshida. "All right, I understand. I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me."

The principal then walks away, leaving Kamoshida alone for a moment before he heads up the stairs.

Akira is in deep thought for a moment before exiting out of the hallway himself, making his way to the roof to meet Ryuji.

He opens the blue door to see the blond sitting on one of the chairs. A big fence surrounded the area, with m furniture, air conditioning machines, and other big appliances crowding the school's rooftop. However, what made him stop from walking up to Ryuji was a girl standing far off.

She turned her body forward, seemingly unaware of the noiret's presence as she put some stuff away. Akira looked at her with slight furrowed brows. She had long (h/c) hair, (s/c) skin with (e/c) eyes that held nonchalance as her expression appeared completely aloof. She had on Shujin Acadamy's female uniform. Blazer unbuttoned, black sheer pantyhose with below the knee, thick black low-heeled laced boots. The girl also had on a pair of white circular earphones in her ears, which hung around her neck like a stethoscope.

Akira could only stare as the sudden memories of the girl with the black umbrella walking past him that morning came flooding back. The strange feelings rushed to him as another reminder that it was this girl. 

Noticing where Akira's attention was, Ryuji turned his head to look back, facial expression morphing into understanding.

"Oh, her. That's (Y/N) (L/N), she's a third-year." Ryuji explains casually. "I can't say much about her since we don't really talk. But she's probably the most decent person at this dump of a school." Turning to Akira, he says, "She's also pretty quiet, like you, so you two might get along."

Ryuji looks back again and raises his to call out to her, "Yo, Senpai!"

You turned your head to look at the loud blond to see the boy from earlier standing beside him. Having the chance to fully examine him, your eyes did a once over for a second before walking over to the two. His black hair was messy and tangled in slight curls, his bangs were long enough to almost hide his onyx colored eyes, which were behind black framed glasses. Unlike Ryuji, he wore the school uniform in proper form. His hands were tucked into his pants pockets with his school bag slung over his left shoulder.

Akira hoped he wasn't making any weird faces, the odd familiar presence rushed through him in full force. Though this time, he could identify it more now that you and him were face to face. With a part of this aura radiating from you that was strong and intense, the other was something Akira didn't expect. There is warmness that lingers in him at feeling someone similar to himself. He doesn't understand why that is or why he feels like that. It expands from his chest, to his stomach, his head, to the tips of his fingers. It's like he's finally able to relax after a long journey, where everything is safe and tranquil, be home. Akira hadn't felt anything like this since he got inside that police car, where he was sentenced to a year of probation in an unfamiliar city all by himself, helpless and alone.

You take one bud out, letting it drape down your shoulder as you look between Ryuji and Akira.

"Is this the person you said you were meeting here, Sakamoto-kun?" you asked, the tone of your voice calm and smooth. There is a speck of flair in your eyes that Akira thought he saw when you stared at him directly. But it was gone a second later. He wonders if you felt the same thing he has.

"Yeah, that's him." the blond answers before he nods his head to Akira. "He's the new guy, he's also in second-year.."

"I remember seeing you when I walked by the station today." you stated aloofly. He blinked, so you did notice him.

"Uh, I'm Akira Kurusu..." the noiret introduces quietly, posture more straight. For a moment he thought he was going to stutter from having to speak up. "I saw you there, too."

You gave a nod of acknowledgment. "So you're the transfer student." there is no sound of judgment in your voice, and Akira, for some reason, wasn't surprised by it. "I'm (Y/N) (L/N), a third-year, but I'm think you knew that..." you stated as you side eyed at Ryuji for a second.

"I was just finished getting some things. Sakamoto-kun came by after and said that he was meeting someone here." you said. "But I'll take my leave now so you two can talk. I'll see you around, Sakamoto-kun. And it was nice to meet you, Kurusu-kun." you gave a bit of a deep nod as a gesture of a bow before turning around to carry a small opened cardboard box at one of the tables. From the noiret's sight, inside were some gardening tools.

"The same goes for me, (L/N)-senpai." Akira responds nonchalantly in a polite manner back. Ryuji says his own goodbye while you stand in front of the doors.

You give one last look at the noiret, a few strands of hair fell over the side of your face. Eyes showing a hint of curiosity and a bit of mirth before leaving.

Akira stares at the doors for a moment before walking closer to Ryuji. After you left, your aura followed after you like a breeze. It would've been his imagination if he had not paid attention.

"So, back on topic." Ryuji said, Akira felt kind of relieved that the blond didn't seem to notice him stare after you. "Sorry for calling you up here like this by the way. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'don't get involved with him,' huh?"

"She said you're trouble." Akira answers honestly.

"Heh, we're pretty much in the same boat," the blond teen says lightly. "I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it." Akira didn't need to be told twice when it's been happening in front of his face in the whole school.

"No wonder you were so gutsy." Ryuji remarks.

Akira goes ahead to lean on one of the desks in front of the the blond.

"...What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed in a castle..." Ryuji trailed off. "It wasn't a dream... right? You remember it, too, yeah?"

"Yeah." the noiret said with a nod, his mind flashing back to being inside that dungeon, fighting the guards, Morgana, ... Spectre.

"Well, just 'cause we remember it doesn't mean much though..." Ryuji replies. "I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida." He gives the quiet male a genuine smile. "So yeah. Thanks, Kurusu."

"You're welcome."

"But man, that Kamoshida we saw there..." Ryuji then looks up at Akira. "You prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumors about him."

"The guy we met earlier?" the noiret asks. "At the front of the school, right?"

"Yeah, the ripped mop-head. That asshole who was all full of himself at the castle." Ryuji said with disdain. "No one says anything against him 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that..." he says. "I wonder if we can go back to that castle again..."

Ryuji shakes his head, "Ugh, forget it. Must've all been a dream! It has to be!" he brushes it off as he stands up to leave. "Sorry to drag you out here like this. That's all I had to say."

He then gives a thoughtful look as he says with an easy smile, "You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna do just fine as 'troublemakers.'" The blond continued, "I'm Ryuji Sakamoto. I'll come talk if I see you around. Don't ignore me, all right? See ya." then exits the door.

Akira stays for a moment longer, going over his thoughts before heading back to LeBlanc café, knowing he would get a scolding from Sojiro.

* * *

When you had left the stairs and into the school yard, Haru greets you with a smile after she had watered some of the plants.

"Ah, (Y/N)-san! Did you bring everything?" she asks.

You nod your head, gesturing to the box in your arms before setting it down.

"Great! We'll only have an hour here before we have to leave, I have to go home early today." the light-haired girl informs.

"That's fine," you said as you put on a pair of gardening gloves.

When you and Haru finished planting seeds and saplings, nurturing the others that had already grown, you went your separate ways after promising to meet up next time for some tea. Heading to the train station to go back to your apartment, you zoned out as music rang in your ears. There weren't many people there, so you sat alone, eyes closed with hands in your skirt pockets.

Your mind couldn't help but drift off to the curly black-haired male on the rooftop. Meeting him really was different compared to a brief passing. His black curly hair and glasses hid much of his face. There was a gleam in behind those black frames that didn't escape your notice. He looked you in the eye with a spark that almost caught you off guard.

Your head leans on the window behind you with a sigh. There was no doubt in mind that Akira Kurusu was someone who'll turn the tide on everything.

The feeling of a small buzz caused you to open your eyes. Reaching inside your blazer pocket, you took out your phone to see the Caller ID. Swiping it, you held it against your ear.

"Hey, (Y/N)! I just called to check in since we haven't had the time to meet lately." his boyish voice said with an upbeat tone.

You let out a small hum in response, now feeling at ease in hearing your friend speak. "I'm just heading home now. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same. I've been swamped with some work lately so I had to move around a lot." he lets out a light chuckle.

"And what about _him_? How is he? I know I haven't visited in a while..."

"Oh he's fine, he really does miss you, though. Whenever your name is brought up he gets all mopey about it and sulks for half an hour." he chuckles. "We really should find a time to meet so his mood will finally lift. The True Battles of Real Men is pretty much the one thing that'll take his mind off you, even if it's temporary."

You hold a reminiscent expression on your face, eyes looking down in thought. The past few months have been a bit hectic. Even during your school break not everyone had been able to make free time to be together all at once. It was sometimes hard considering that you all went your separate ways.

"I'll be sure to tell you when I'm free. I think going back will be a nice change for me." you said as you got off the train and walked the rest of the way into your apartment.

"Don't worry about it too much, (Y/N). This is technically supposed to be a vacation for you. Though I really wouldn't call school as that." he said.

"Not for many, no." you say with light amusement.

"I'll be sure to tell everyone about having a next meet up. When you finally get a break off school you have to come visit, okay?"

"I will." you assure, feeling more at ease than you have been lately.

"Great! I'll call you later,"

"All right."

After ending your conversation, you made your way inside the building and unlocked your apartment door. Taking your blazer and boots off, you put your school bag in your room before leaving to freshen up in the bathroom. Your body froze, however, when your (e/c) eyes caught the familiar stack of cards on your small desk. They aged from the light loss of colour and crusty edges.

You soon closed your eyes and shook your head. Turning away, you closed your bedroom door and headed into the hall.

* * *

When Akira came back to LeBlanc cafe, he received a light scold from Sojiro before making his way inside the attic. As he slept off his rough first day of school, he had dreamt of himself back inside that prison cell, the Velvet Room. He slowly opened his eyes and and sat up from the bench.

"About time you've come to." Caroline snarked impatiently before banging her baton against one of the cell bars. "On your feet, inmate!"

"Our master wishes to speak with you. It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart." said Justine.

"First off, let us celebrate our reunion." speaks Igor. "You've awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. You have also met our Honoured Guest much quicker that expected, but suitable all the same. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."

"Rehabilitation?" Akira asks. "The Honoured Guest?"

"There is no need to understand it all for the time being." Igor answers. "You will be training the power of Personas, which you have awakened to." he goes on to further explain. "Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'–an armour of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for you."

"What do you mean?" the boy could only continue to question.

"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes." Igor brushes off, sounding as vague as ever. "By the by... have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?" he asks.

It clicked in Akira's mind, the strange app on his phone was installed there on purpose. How this was possible, the noiret had no idea, this was a dream, yet it impacted his reality all too quickly after his first visit.

"Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces." said Igor.

"Metaverse Navigator?"

"I bestowed to you as a means to train you as a thief." he says simply. "It is also where you have met our Honoured Guest, the one who we mentioned in our first meeting. She is the only frequent visitor of the Velvet Room. With her assistance, you may learn much of Personas and grow as a thief. All of which are valuable for your rehabilitation."

'Thief...?' Akira thought. Memories flashed through his head of Spectre and Morgana, both who came to that castle willingly with purpose. It was Spectre who was the Honoured Guest of the Velvet Room. Being the only female he met there. She also fit the criteria of skill and power that would be well described as a thief. It made some sense that upon meeting her, her presence gave such intense allurement and familiarity. Akira remembered the words she whispered to him just before he left the castle.

"The Velvet Room awaits you..."

Akira wondered if Igor had been the one who told her about him, or if she found out herself. There was a look of curiosity in Spectre's glowing eyes that were directed at him, only giving Ryuji Sakamoto a neutral expression. But the noiret had to wonder why he felt something similar with the third-year student twice in a row, from the station to the rooftop. There was a difference between the two, but alike at the same time. Akira's mind was conflicted at how strange everything was.

"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care of using it, Inmate!" Caroline warned with agitation.

"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief." Justine advises cooly.

"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone. Should there be others who prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well." Igor informs. "This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief..."

"Hmph, it's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have..." said Caroline.

Soon everything turned dark, and Akira found himself back to his reality.

* * *

"What was the conductor thinking, charging into the station at top speed like that?" said one of the students that Akira overheard inside the subway.

"Didn't you hear? The guy totally lost it." answered another. "It's been happening a lot lately."

"All these accidents are because people are suddenly losing their minds, right?"

"Well between the economy sucking and how depressing the news always is, it's not all that surprising."

' _Losing their minds_...?' Akira pondered in thought with furrowed brows.

When he arrived at his destination, the noiret got off the subway and made his way to Shujin. He zoned the other students' voices out from their usual gossip. Akira couldn't help but question where the castle went after he and Ryuji Sakamoto left. It was big, daunting, completely surreal.

When Akira got in his seat, he leaned his upper body weight on the desk. Head resting on his left hand with a blank expression as a teacher began talking.

"I'm the social studies teacher, Mr. Ushimaru. I'll be teaching you the rules of society this year." said the crabby middle-aged man. Surveying the room, he let out an arrogant remark, "Hmph... You all look like you've been spoiled growing up. Before we learn society's rules, maybe I should start with the rules of being a decent human being."

Darting his eyes around for a student to pick on, he ironically chose Akira. "Hey, new kid." he called out. Akira stood up straight to show his attention.

"The Greek philosopher, Plato, divided the human soul into three parts. A soul is composed of appetite, spirt, and what else?"

"Logic." Akira answered calmly.

Mr. Ushimaru looked surprised before giving a satisfied expression. "Correct. So you knew that, huh?" he then finishes off a quick explanation. "Plato's teacher, Socrates, said that evil is born from ignorance. People who've been babied, taught that evil is due to individuality can only become society's scum.

Mumbles were shared from the other students, who were surprised. "Wow, he got it right... Is he really a delinquent?" "He may be a punk, but maybe he's actually serious about studying?"

' _I feel like I got smarter from answering that question_...' the noiret thinks as he rubs the back of his neck. He suddenly felt a change stir inside him.

"Bizarre incidents have been occurring frequently. Those are but the actions of scum." said Mr. Ushimaru. "We don't need crude people like that. Understand?"

The hours went by until school was finally over, when Akira stepped outside the classroom he heard a familiar voice in the hallway.

"Hey there, Takamaki!" Kamoshida greets cheerily, making the blonde haired girl, Takamaki, stop her movements. "You looking for a ride home? Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents."

"Sorry, I have a photoshoot today. It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it..." she said, looking away from the teacher, her body stiff.

"Hey, now... Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone." he says. "You mentioned that you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"

Eyes still cast downward, Takamaki gives a slight nod. "Yes. I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy... Sorry to worry you."

"You must be feeling so lonely, too. I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often." Kamoshida notes. "That's why I asked you out in the first place. Oh, and... be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you..."

"Uh... Thank you." she responds awkwardly. "Please excuse me." before finally walking away.

As Kamoshida sees her off, his facial expression changed to annoyance. "Tch..." he let out, walking up the stairs.

Akira stares off, thinking over the pair's conversation for a moment before making his way outside the school, thinking back to his time at that castle.

He wasn't surprised to not see you anywhere in the building, considering you both were in different years. It shouldn't bother him, but there is something about you that is compelling. Once he met you, he saw how aloof and uninterested you came off as. Akira was similar in that regard, but not as much as you were. It was like you were untouchable, as if nothing in this world could faze you. The spectacled male wonders if you drown out everything behind those old white earphones. Ignoring the false rumours and the silent judgement from all the other students.

He notices how though your face and body remained reserved, you had a certain look in your eyes just when you were about to walk off the rooftop door. It was like you were waiting for something. No, expecting is the word Akira would put it. From what, he had no clue. From _him_? He could only guess.

Shaking his head from the thoughts, Akira was just about to walk off the school gate when he turned his head to see Ryuji. The blond was standing behind the wall, looking to have waited for Akira to show up.

"Yo." Ryuji greets, coming up to him.

"What's up?" asks the noiret.

"I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday." he answers. "I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream... but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all." Ryuji expresses a serious look on his face. "I wanna find out what up with that place, no matter what. And y'know, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"

Akira gave a moment of thought, if the two of them did come back to the castle, he'd have a chance to talk to Spectre. She's the only one who could give him some answers. On the other hand, when he and Ryuji first arrived, their lives were on the line. Nothing was going to stop those knights from trying to kill them. Especially since they weren't human. Akira may have been able to fight back, but it was as Morgana said, he was still an amateur with not much understanding of the power he wielded.

The noiret could see that if they didn't find Spectre and Morgana at that castle, things might turn out badly. But he also noticed the determined look in Ryuji's eyes, Akira felt the same. Deep down he knew he couldn't just avoid it. He had to meet Spectre again and at least get some answers.

Making up his mind, Akira said, "Sure, what next?"

Ryuji seemed to surprised by his willingness, but pleased. "Ooh... Looks like I managed to talk some sense into you. I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday. In the meantime, you're walkin' to the station, right? Let's go together. Lemme me know if you notice any other weird buildings on the way."

'He doesn't seem like a bad guy. I should probably just go along with this...' Akira thought hesitantly, pushing up his glasses.

Following Ryuji's lead, the two of them retraced their steps from when they came back.

"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time." says Ryuji. "When'd they build something like that though?"

"A castle in this place would've attracted attention.." said Akira. "Yet no one seems to know."

"Fair point, but doesn't that make things more confusing? Can't wrap my head around it." Ryuji then begins looking. "We walked that way from here, right?"

"Maybe..." Akira responds with furrowed brows.

"When you put it that way, I'm not so sure anymore..." says the blond before he chose a path. "All right, this way. Lemme know if you notice something."

Scouring around, they ended up back at the school building. Nothing that the two boys have seen had anything related to a castle. They made a small stop to brainstorm other ideas. Ryuji looked more confused and disappointed, Akira was only lost in thought.

"Is it smaller than we think it is?" Ryuji wonders aloud before looking at the quiet noiret. "What do you think?"

"Check your phone." Akira offered.

"I already did that." he sighs. "I didn't see anything like it around here..." a thought suddenly hit him. "Huh? Phone... Hey, that reminds me–didn't you have a navigation app thingy on back then? I heard something like sound comin' from it. Y'know , didn't it say stuff like 'returned to the real world' or something like that?"

Akira remembered the one eyed app he couldn't delete before, and the second dream he had of the Velvet Room. Thinking back to Igor's words, he took out his phone and turned it on.

Peering over Akira's shoulder, Ryuji spotted the strange app. "What's this eyeball lookin' thing?"

"I don't know, it just appeared on my phone the day I came here." answered the noiret. "No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't delete it."

"What?" Ryuji asks surprised. "What a weird app..."

When Akira opened it, the app appeared to be just like a navigation.

"This is it!" Ryuji exclaimed. "I knew it, it is a navigation app! There's even your search history!" he noted. "Let's try usin' it."

"I don't know about this..." Akira trailed off.

"Why? All we're doin' is startin' an app." says the blond, looking a bit too eager in Akira's opinion. The noiret reluctantly obliged, tapping on his search history, a robotic and feminine voice spoke out from the device.

" **Kamoshida**... **Shujin Academy**... **Pervert**... **Castle**... **Beginning navigation**."

"There we go!" Ryuji cheered while Akira only looked wary. "Then we went in a certain, and–"

Suddenly, everything seemed to morph and turn darker in the noiret's vision, making him stand up much straighter, he felt that same dizziness again. Noticing his stance, Ryuji looked at him in confusion. "Hey, what're you–" before he felt it himself. "Huh? What the hell?!"

Akira's phone screen was glitching, only showing the image of the red eye which grew bigger until it enveloped the screen completely red for a moment. All around the two males, the scenery became distorted, the school in front of them was replaced by the all too familiar castle looming over them.

**Author's Note:**

> (Story ties with the Persona series' timeline from P1-P5/Royal/Scramble, and PQ2. I don't own anything. Persona belongs to Atlus.)


End file.
